Recently the New York Times ran two articles on American schools setting up campuses in the Middle East. Below are links to the two articles. In the first one, a large picture comes up of two Qataris standing next to a staircase in the LAS building where I work. My office and labs are about twenty feet to the left of this picture...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/education/10global.html?_r=2&ex=1203397200&en=17ece6df949f1f44&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/education/11global.html?ex=1203397200&en=4ce5ad74b39b804f&ei=5070&emc=eta1
ben
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
hot dogs & beer...
Someone jokingly mentioned that I was about to hit the two-month mark living in Doha... and that everything will get worse from here on out. He was referring to the fact that ex-pats have the hardest time adjusting to living overseas during months three thru nine. The first two months are the honeymoon... everything is new, people are helping you out a lot, and you are constantly exploring your new home. But after two months, you start noticing the faults... people aren't that nice, you can't buy the deordorant you like, someone keeps leaving the toothpaste cap off the tube, etc. The little things start to bother you as you settle into your routine. There are things like that happening to me, but so far they are far less worse than when I was in Houston. Traffic is bad, but the city is so small so who cares? The bureacracy is maddening, but show me one that isn't? All in all, I'm really liking it here. But there are things that are making me a little homesick... I'm missing my Baby...
I do wish I could do something to make my home more... homey. I can't paint the walls (cannot find paint), and I can't stand all the white and brown. All - take a look at the pictures of my place online, and give me some suggestions!
I have found myself longing for a few things that you just cannot get here. Mainly, pork. Everyone, go to your fridges and eat some pork for me... because you don't know what life is like without it. I have great respect to the religion and cultures of the region... but no pig?? The food here is great, but always a little dry, and nothing comes with a sauce of any kind. Why?... no pig fat to cook in. BBQ here just means cooked over a grill with some seasoning. It's hard to find a true BBQ sauce, and when you do, it's ungodly expensive. Most meats are eaten in shwarma or minced (not ground, minced into a fine meaty powder) so ribs or pulled beef is out of the question. I ate chicken hot dogs last week. And I don't care what they say... beef bacon is not bacon... ever.
A big question I had before I came here was "what is the food like?" I was trying to find out what was the cuisine of the middle east, since you rarely see middle-eastern restaurants or dishes in the west. Well, I finally have my answer... there is no middle-eastern cuisine. None. Sure, they eat dates and palm, love their citrus, and have a healthy appetite for camel, but nothing stands out. I asked some of my students what would be Qatar's signature dish... and no one could come up with anything. The food here is an amalgam of other cultures... particularly Turkish, Indian, and Lebanese.
Turkish and Lebanese are very similar, and probably comprise more than half of the restaurants in Doha. Lots of rice, hummus, fresh unleavened breads, pickled vegetables, kebabs, mixed nuts, roast chicken, and minced lamb or beef with eastern spices. My favorite place, so far, is a Turkish restaurant nearby that sells meat, veg, and egg pies shapes like boomerangs... sooo good for about a buck each.
Indian food is another large subgroup. Not that many Indian restaurants (although they are all fantastic) but their influence with spices and tajines (cooking in earthenware dishes... think crockpot) is everywhere. Honestly, I always liked Indian food, but was never a huge fan... I always ended up eating a dandelion pod or some unknown clove that ruined it for me. Turns out I was eating crap... 'cause the Indian food here is nothing like you've ever had before! The bread alone would be worth the price of a plane ticket. Most of the Indian food in northern style... more refined and crafted. Some places do serve the southern style of mixed curries and burn-a-hole-in-your-soul spices. Me... I like them all.
I need to clarify when I talk about Indians... I'm talking about the sub-continental Indians... from India. If you say Indians here, there can sometimes be a communication gap... just like in the states. Lots of people here call all east-asians, from the Indes, "indians." So Phillipinos or Pinay are also called "indians." Just making sure we're all on the same page.
I still don't have my car... little snafus with the paperwork and timing. I should get it tomorrow... cross your fingers. I ended up buying a Nissan XTerra. Always like the styling, and surprisingly affordable when your company gives you a car stipend every month. I probably won't be able to bring it to the states when I leave due to manufacturing codes. The standards for safety are not as stringent here as they are in the states... even though my car was made in Mississippi. The XTerra is safe, four-wheel-drive, offroad capabilities, plenty of room for me, and comfortable. There's only two things I don't like about the car... the gas mileage and the color. It's gas mileage sucks... but when you're paying about 70 cents per gallon... who cares? As for the color, I wanted either black, blue, maroon, or red. Turns out you don't want to own a black car in the desert... as the dashboards tend to pop out of their supports with the heat, and the dust and sand causes scratches and turns the black paint gray. And the blue and maroon were only for the top-of-the-line models with sat-nav and custom leather interior. Why anyone wants sat-nav in a country that you can drive all the way across in half-an-hour is beyond me. As for the red, they purposely don't import that color to Qatar. Red SUVs are reserved for the ruling family's (al-Thanis) private security force... the CID. That leaves the standard choices of all automobiles in Doha... white or silver. In fact, about 95% of the cars here are white or silver... and at least half of those are Toyota Landcruisers (the choice of all Qataris). Problem is, I can't stand white or silver cars... never could. They're just boring and plain and ugly... especially here since that is all anyone owns!! So, I took it a step further than normal... I got the yellow one.
Turns out, the XTerra, a staple in the US, just arrived in Qatar this month. And I bought one of two in the entire country. Can't wait..
The bowling league is supposed to start play this week... but the guy in charge is out of town, so there might be a delay. But that didn't stop me from preparing, oh no... I bought a bowling ball... and it glows in the dark!! I got the finger holes drilled today and played a quick game... 121. Not the best, but still OK.
Speaking of sports, this was an all-sports, all the time, weekend. Went to the TAMUQ basketball game on Thursday night versus Weill Cornell Medical College. Blowout, TAMUQ win. Bad news though, one of our bench players went down with a blown knee with only a minute left in the game. Hope he's well.
This past week I was joking with my students about how much I hate soccer, "football, Mr. Ben... it is called football". Of course here, soccer is the national sport and everyone plays it. So I promised some of my students that I would go watch the football match on Friday. I went out Friday afternoon (remember, my weekends are Fri and Sat) and watched the game. How excruciatingly boring!! I just don't get the excitement of it... the constant falling down and feigning of injury. And they do it so poorly!! The best part of the game was when a player (not ours) was yellow carded for a penalty. He then started to argue with the ref, and was given a red card... meaning he was thrown out of the game. Well, this little firecracker was having none of that!! Instead, he sat in the middle of the field screaming that he had done nothing wrong, and was not going to leave the pitch. That's right, he was throwing a temper tantrum. And everyone seemed OK with it... and he sat there for twenty minutes while everyone argued. No wonder I would rather eat a soccer ball than watch it.
On the other spectrum of sportsmanship, I was invited to watch the league cricket championship on Saturday from some of my sub-continental Indian students. Sure, I said, it'll be interesting... but I brought a book, just in case. This afternoon (beautiful day) I took a chair out to a large parking lot in Education city and watched my first cricket match. I loved it!! No, I don't understand all the rules, and no, I couldn't keep track of the score... but it was so much fun! The students were explaining the game to me, there was actual excitement both on the field and with the players on the bench, and they were gracious sports when they lost the championship to the med school. 134-133 with six bowlers remaining... tough break. The students were very curteous in explaining everything going on... I think it was because I was the only spectator!That's right... championship game... and I, someone who knows absolutely nothing about cricket, was the only person rooting for my team. Gig em, Ags!
We're not done with sports just yet. After the game, I went to the bowling alley downtown to get my ball drilled and to bowl a game. All good fun. On the way home, I saw that there were a ton of cars lined up and down one of the major streets that I live off of. Then it hit me, the ladies tennis tournament, the Qatar Open, was going on. We have two huge tennis centers in Doha, and everyone was parked to see the semi-finals... or they wanted to see Maria Sharapova. But who doesn't want to see Maria Sharapova? So, I pulled over and went to take a look. Most sporting events here are completely free to go watch, and this was no different, but you did need a ticket to get in the gates for the reserved seating. But it turns out that if you walk quick and act like you belong inside, the ticket officials won't stop you. And there I found myself... standing in the tunnel of the stadium, watching Sharapova beat Radwanska in two sets. I didn't stay for long, as security was wondering why I wasn't going to my seat. But it was a cool experience, anyway.
In one weekend I went to a basketball game, a soccer pitch, a cricket ground, bowled ten frames, and watched a tennis match...
And I barely broke a sweat...
ben
I do wish I could do something to make my home more... homey. I can't paint the walls (cannot find paint), and I can't stand all the white and brown. All - take a look at the pictures of my place online, and give me some suggestions!
I have found myself longing for a few things that you just cannot get here. Mainly, pork. Everyone, go to your fridges and eat some pork for me... because you don't know what life is like without it. I have great respect to the religion and cultures of the region... but no pig?? The food here is great, but always a little dry, and nothing comes with a sauce of any kind. Why?... no pig fat to cook in. BBQ here just means cooked over a grill with some seasoning. It's hard to find a true BBQ sauce, and when you do, it's ungodly expensive. Most meats are eaten in shwarma or minced (not ground, minced into a fine meaty powder) so ribs or pulled beef is out of the question. I ate chicken hot dogs last week. And I don't care what they say... beef bacon is not bacon... ever.
A big question I had before I came here was "what is the food like?" I was trying to find out what was the cuisine of the middle east, since you rarely see middle-eastern restaurants or dishes in the west. Well, I finally have my answer... there is no middle-eastern cuisine. None. Sure, they eat dates and palm, love their citrus, and have a healthy appetite for camel, but nothing stands out. I asked some of my students what would be Qatar's signature dish... and no one could come up with anything. The food here is an amalgam of other cultures... particularly Turkish, Indian, and Lebanese.
Turkish and Lebanese are very similar, and probably comprise more than half of the restaurants in Doha. Lots of rice, hummus, fresh unleavened breads, pickled vegetables, kebabs, mixed nuts, roast chicken, and minced lamb or beef with eastern spices. My favorite place, so far, is a Turkish restaurant nearby that sells meat, veg, and egg pies shapes like boomerangs... sooo good for about a buck each.
Indian food is another large subgroup. Not that many Indian restaurants (although they are all fantastic) but their influence with spices and tajines (cooking in earthenware dishes... think crockpot) is everywhere. Honestly, I always liked Indian food, but was never a huge fan... I always ended up eating a dandelion pod or some unknown clove that ruined it for me. Turns out I was eating crap... 'cause the Indian food here is nothing like you've ever had before! The bread alone would be worth the price of a plane ticket. Most of the Indian food in northern style... more refined and crafted. Some places do serve the southern style of mixed curries and burn-a-hole-in-your-soul spices. Me... I like them all.
I need to clarify when I talk about Indians... I'm talking about the sub-continental Indians... from India. If you say Indians here, there can sometimes be a communication gap... just like in the states. Lots of people here call all east-asians, from the Indes, "indians." So Phillipinos or Pinay are also called "indians." Just making sure we're all on the same page.
I still don't have my car... little snafus with the paperwork and timing. I should get it tomorrow... cross your fingers. I ended up buying a Nissan XTerra. Always like the styling, and surprisingly affordable when your company gives you a car stipend every month. I probably won't be able to bring it to the states when I leave due to manufacturing codes. The standards for safety are not as stringent here as they are in the states... even though my car was made in Mississippi. The XTerra is safe, four-wheel-drive, offroad capabilities, plenty of room for me, and comfortable. There's only two things I don't like about the car... the gas mileage and the color. It's gas mileage sucks... but when you're paying about 70 cents per gallon... who cares? As for the color, I wanted either black, blue, maroon, or red. Turns out you don't want to own a black car in the desert... as the dashboards tend to pop out of their supports with the heat, and the dust and sand causes scratches and turns the black paint gray. And the blue and maroon were only for the top-of-the-line models with sat-nav and custom leather interior. Why anyone wants sat-nav in a country that you can drive all the way across in half-an-hour is beyond me. As for the red, they purposely don't import that color to Qatar. Red SUVs are reserved for the ruling family's (al-Thanis) private security force... the CID. That leaves the standard choices of all automobiles in Doha... white or silver. In fact, about 95% of the cars here are white or silver... and at least half of those are Toyota Landcruisers (the choice of all Qataris). Problem is, I can't stand white or silver cars... never could. They're just boring and plain and ugly... especially here since that is all anyone owns!! So, I took it a step further than normal... I got the yellow one.
Turns out, the XTerra, a staple in the US, just arrived in Qatar this month. And I bought one of two in the entire country. Can't wait..The bowling league is supposed to start play this week... but the guy in charge is out of town, so there might be a delay. But that didn't stop me from preparing, oh no... I bought a bowling ball... and it glows in the dark!! I got the finger holes drilled today and played a quick game... 121. Not the best, but still OK.
Speaking of sports, this was an all-sports, all the time, weekend. Went to the TAMUQ basketball game on Thursday night versus Weill Cornell Medical College. Blowout, TAMUQ win. Bad news though, one of our bench players went down with a blown knee with only a minute left in the game. Hope he's well.
This past week I was joking with my students about how much I hate soccer, "football, Mr. Ben... it is called football". Of course here, soccer is the national sport and everyone plays it. So I promised some of my students that I would go watch the football match on Friday. I went out Friday afternoon (remember, my weekends are Fri and Sat) and watched the game. How excruciatingly boring!! I just don't get the excitement of it... the constant falling down and feigning of injury. And they do it so poorly!! The best part of the game was when a player (not ours) was yellow carded for a penalty. He then started to argue with the ref, and was given a red card... meaning he was thrown out of the game. Well, this little firecracker was having none of that!! Instead, he sat in the middle of the field screaming that he had done nothing wrong, and was not going to leave the pitch. That's right, he was throwing a temper tantrum. And everyone seemed OK with it... and he sat there for twenty minutes while everyone argued. No wonder I would rather eat a soccer ball than watch it.
On the other spectrum of sportsmanship, I was invited to watch the league cricket championship on Saturday from some of my sub-continental Indian students. Sure, I said, it'll be interesting... but I brought a book, just in case. This afternoon (beautiful day) I took a chair out to a large parking lot in Education city and watched my first cricket match. I loved it!! No, I don't understand all the rules, and no, I couldn't keep track of the score... but it was so much fun! The students were explaining the game to me, there was actual excitement both on the field and with the players on the bench, and they were gracious sports when they lost the championship to the med school. 134-133 with six bowlers remaining... tough break. The students were very curteous in explaining everything going on... I think it was because I was the only spectator!That's right... championship game... and I, someone who knows absolutely nothing about cricket, was the only person rooting for my team. Gig em, Ags!
We're not done with sports just yet. After the game, I went to the bowling alley downtown to get my ball drilled and to bowl a game. All good fun. On the way home, I saw that there were a ton of cars lined up and down one of the major streets that I live off of. Then it hit me, the ladies tennis tournament, the Qatar Open, was going on. We have two huge tennis centers in Doha, and everyone was parked to see the semi-finals... or they wanted to see Maria Sharapova. But who doesn't want to see Maria Sharapova? So, I pulled over and went to take a look. Most sporting events here are completely free to go watch, and this was no different, but you did need a ticket to get in the gates for the reserved seating. But it turns out that if you walk quick and act like you belong inside, the ticket officials won't stop you. And there I found myself... standing in the tunnel of the stadium, watching Sharapova beat Radwanska in two sets. I didn't stay for long, as security was wondering why I wasn't going to my seat. But it was a cool experience, anyway.
In one weekend I went to a basketball game, a soccer pitch, a cricket ground, bowled ten frames, and watched a tennis match...
And I barely broke a sweat...
ben
Friday, February 15, 2008
and not a drop to drink...
Finally got out of the city today. One of the professors at TAMUQ is an expert in archeochemistry... the chemistry of archeological artifacts. Turns out there is a large formation of rocks on the northern gulf that have carvings made by... well, god knows who. No one knows who made them or what they are... paired series of holes, boats with oars coming out of them, large sisterns to catch water, maybe. The carvings (rock art... actual name) are in a protected area right off the beach on the northern most tip of Qatar. I say protected... but not really. We cannot take any samples, and you're not allowed to remove anything. But anyone can just go and check it out. In fact, as we were pulling up to the site, the Qatar motorcyle club pulled in along side of us and had a photoshot on the rocks... good science.
Anyway, I went up with the prof to get some pics and use a GPS to mark the location of carvings. Later, we went to another site and hiked around, looking for signs of rock art. It was a beautiful day, a little windy, but it was amazing to find yourself in the middle of a desert. I put a ton of pics up on the photo site... http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/benji-of-arabia/.
Afterwards, we stopped in the town of Al Kohr and had lunch. Al Kohr is an old fort town that is home to mainly immigrant mainland Indians. It has a corniche (waterfront) just like Doha, but much smaller. When I got home I realized that in just a few hours I had gotten sunburned and a little dehydrated. You just can't underestimate the heat and wind here... and it's still only February. When I got home I changed clothes to take a shower. There was a thick film of yellow dust layering the bottom of my shower. That's just how it is here... everything gets covered in dust.
With any luck, I'll have a new car next week. A nice four wheel drive machine that will allow me to head out in the desert myself, and hopefully head south to the dunes in a few weeks.
My bowling league starts up in two weeks. To celebrate, I decided to buy myself a ball... always wanted my own. Pretty much had to get one since none of the balls at the alley would fit my. Ended up buying the cheapest ball I could find online... and... it glows in the dark!! I'm going to get the fingers drilled tomorrow... and then the bowling starts.
Teaching the labs is going really well. I always have to perform the labs myself to better understand what the student's have to do, and to remember all the concepts. The labs are actually a lot of fun... I'm remembering what I used to love about chemistry. The students, like all students, are a mixed bag. They are all really sharp kids... they have to be to get into the school. But the maturity level here is less than what I remember when I was in school, and I've heard the same from more experienced teachers. For many of the students, this is their first time taking classes with people from different countries and different sexes. A lot of them grew up in a priviledged society. Many show up being driven to school by their maids or servants. TAMUQ actually has a policy of not allowing maids to carry books for the students... hah. When I try to explain to them why it is important to learn the hands on procedures, I always get odd looks from the Qatari students. Turns out, none of them will ever be practicing engineers... they will all go directly into upper management. Nice to start out on top...
Thanks for all the emails and correspondance, everyone. Dad and Kim have been video calling me using windows instant messenger... if you'd like to, send me an email and I'll give you my info. Although I'm a little upset with the lack of care packages. Just a reminder, I'm allowed to get up to four packages a month... just letting you know. And I could really use a Swiffer and some pads... it gets really dusty here.
later...
ben
Anyway, I went up with the prof to get some pics and use a GPS to mark the location of carvings. Later, we went to another site and hiked around, looking for signs of rock art. It was a beautiful day, a little windy, but it was amazing to find yourself in the middle of a desert. I put a ton of pics up on the photo site... http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/benji-of-arabia/.
Afterwards, we stopped in the town of Al Kohr and had lunch. Al Kohr is an old fort town that is home to mainly immigrant mainland Indians. It has a corniche (waterfront) just like Doha, but much smaller. When I got home I realized that in just a few hours I had gotten sunburned and a little dehydrated. You just can't underestimate the heat and wind here... and it's still only February. When I got home I changed clothes to take a shower. There was a thick film of yellow dust layering the bottom of my shower. That's just how it is here... everything gets covered in dust.
With any luck, I'll have a new car next week. A nice four wheel drive machine that will allow me to head out in the desert myself, and hopefully head south to the dunes in a few weeks.
My bowling league starts up in two weeks. To celebrate, I decided to buy myself a ball... always wanted my own. Pretty much had to get one since none of the balls at the alley would fit my. Ended up buying the cheapest ball I could find online... and... it glows in the dark!! I'm going to get the fingers drilled tomorrow... and then the bowling starts.
Teaching the labs is going really well. I always have to perform the labs myself to better understand what the student's have to do, and to remember all the concepts. The labs are actually a lot of fun... I'm remembering what I used to love about chemistry. The students, like all students, are a mixed bag. They are all really sharp kids... they have to be to get into the school. But the maturity level here is less than what I remember when I was in school, and I've heard the same from more experienced teachers. For many of the students, this is their first time taking classes with people from different countries and different sexes. A lot of them grew up in a priviledged society. Many show up being driven to school by their maids or servants. TAMUQ actually has a policy of not allowing maids to carry books for the students... hah. When I try to explain to them why it is important to learn the hands on procedures, I always get odd looks from the Qatari students. Turns out, none of them will ever be practicing engineers... they will all go directly into upper management. Nice to start out on top...
Thanks for all the emails and correspondance, everyone. Dad and Kim have been video calling me using windows instant messenger... if you'd like to, send me an email and I'll give you my info. Although I'm a little upset with the lack of care packages. Just a reminder, I'm allowed to get up to four packages a month... just letting you know. And I could really use a Swiffer and some pads... it gets really dusty here.
later...
ben
Friday, February 1, 2008
that's entertainment...
First things first... Happy Birthday Mom!!
Being in a new city and country affords me the opportunity to explore the different cultures, foods, and places that surround me. But sometimes... you just want to stay home. Like today... a sandstorm blew in overnight and almost no one is on the roads. Why?? Because you can't see farther than fifty feet in front of your car with a wind blowing so hard it coats the windows with dust and sand every two minutes. Windshield wipers don't work so well when you're squeegee-ing off dust... and never use your wiper fluid... big mistake.
Normally when I get bored, I try to start some projects... building a deck, painting a room, etc. I like keeping my hands busy. But my options are a little stunted here. First off, there's no Home Depot within four thousand miles. Tools are a hot commodity... and so is paint... and wood. My flat is very nice, but its hard to hang a picture (if you can find one) when the walls are 12-inch thick concrete. Painting would be nice, if you can find the paint.
The local Qataris like to lounge in tents with the walls and furniture covered in the same Arabic fabric. If I can find the right stuff for cheap, I think I'm going to do that to my living room. Think harem... without the naked women and drugs... (dammit).
Also, almost all businesses have either pictures or woven rugs with the sheik and the crown-prince on them. Gotta get me some of those!!
I haven't shelled out for satellite TV yet. I have about fifty channels, all but six are in arabic. The lineup breaks down like this: 50% - some arabic man talking into a microphone (at least twenty channels at any given time), 20% - calming local music with nature scenes while text of the Koran is highlighted across the screen, 10% - bad 80's american movies with steven seagal or bruce willis (really), 10% - cooking shows on the fatafeat network (I move across the globe and still can't get away from Rachael Ray), 5% - news on bbc and al-jazeera, and the final 5% is arabic-dubbed King of Queens. I never liked that damn show.
Speaking of al-jazeera, for those of you that don't know, it is the network that always delivers the terrorist's tapes to the west, and it is located here in Doha. Let me set the record straight... al-jazeera is no different than CNN. In fact, it IS the CNN over here. It is a widely respected organization and is the leading source of un-biased news around here. It makes me laugh that a few years ago, our president talked openly about bombing al-jazeera so they wouldn't be able to receive terrorist's tapes. That's like killing the waiter from bringing you bad food. And I'm not just saying this because I live RIGHT BY THEIR HEADQUARTERS!! So please... in the upcoming elections... vote for the guy who won't bomb al-jazeera... thank you.
I went to TAMUQ's basketball game last night. We played a solid defensive game against Qatar Academy, and came out with a strong win. Now, considering the Qatar Academy Falcons are equivalent to an american high school, you may not see the highlights on ESPN. Even so, it was a solid whoopin...
A few of us are going to try and watch the Superbowl here. Someone has a hookup to a stateside cable box that he can watch on his computer. We're trying to get premission to hook it up in the large stadium classroom so we can view it on the high-def movie screen... keep your fingers crossed.
I went out to the Doha Masters golf tournament last weekend. Walked the course (very nice) in the north end of Doha. If you look on google earth, it's pretty easy to find. Just look for the only large patch of green in the entire country. Saw sergio, adam scott, ian poulter, and colin montgomerie, who, incidentially, has lost a lot of weight. If you've ever played golf in arizona, the course looks much the same... one difference... you can see the ocean from the tee boxes.
In the next few weeks, I should have my own car. Currently I'm driving a rented Chevy Optra that is about three sizes too small for me. I think I would be better off with my old Yugo (miss that car). I'm probably gonna buy a new 4x4 SUV so I can get out of the city a little better and go explore. I was told to make sure I don't buy a Shayynatt... an Indian car they sell a lot of here. Turns out their engine hoses like to melt in the summer sun. Oops.
One last thing... and this one's for my dad. Years ago, dad gave me some sound advice. He said, "If you want to meet some people and have fun... join a bowling league." At the time, I laughed and thought that dad was starting to go senile. Well dad... once again, you've proven yourself right. I joined the Education City bowling league. Its a faculty only league, and it seems to be pretty cutthroat. I'm going bowling tomorrow with some coworkers... for "fun" they say. I think they're just sizing me up to see if I'm worthy of playing on their team, or to send me down to the scrub team (math department).
It's a odd day when you realize the most exciting part of your weekend will be bowling tryouts.
later...
ben
Being in a new city and country affords me the opportunity to explore the different cultures, foods, and places that surround me. But sometimes... you just want to stay home. Like today... a sandstorm blew in overnight and almost no one is on the roads. Why?? Because you can't see farther than fifty feet in front of your car with a wind blowing so hard it coats the windows with dust and sand every two minutes. Windshield wipers don't work so well when you're squeegee-ing off dust... and never use your wiper fluid... big mistake.
Normally when I get bored, I try to start some projects... building a deck, painting a room, etc. I like keeping my hands busy. But my options are a little stunted here. First off, there's no Home Depot within four thousand miles. Tools are a hot commodity... and so is paint... and wood. My flat is very nice, but its hard to hang a picture (if you can find one) when the walls are 12-inch thick concrete. Painting would be nice, if you can find the paint.
The local Qataris like to lounge in tents with the walls and furniture covered in the same Arabic fabric. If I can find the right stuff for cheap, I think I'm going to do that to my living room. Think harem... without the naked women and drugs... (dammit).
Also, almost all businesses have either pictures or woven rugs with the sheik and the crown-prince on them. Gotta get me some of those!!
I haven't shelled out for satellite TV yet. I have about fifty channels, all but six are in arabic. The lineup breaks down like this: 50% - some arabic man talking into a microphone (at least twenty channels at any given time), 20% - calming local music with nature scenes while text of the Koran is highlighted across the screen, 10% - bad 80's american movies with steven seagal or bruce willis (really), 10% - cooking shows on the fatafeat network (I move across the globe and still can't get away from Rachael Ray), 5% - news on bbc and al-jazeera, and the final 5% is arabic-dubbed King of Queens. I never liked that damn show.
Speaking of al-jazeera, for those of you that don't know, it is the network that always delivers the terrorist's tapes to the west, and it is located here in Doha. Let me set the record straight... al-jazeera is no different than CNN. In fact, it IS the CNN over here. It is a widely respected organization and is the leading source of un-biased news around here. It makes me laugh that a few years ago, our president talked openly about bombing al-jazeera so they wouldn't be able to receive terrorist's tapes. That's like killing the waiter from bringing you bad food. And I'm not just saying this because I live RIGHT BY THEIR HEADQUARTERS!! So please... in the upcoming elections... vote for the guy who won't bomb al-jazeera... thank you.
I went to TAMUQ's basketball game last night. We played a solid defensive game against Qatar Academy, and came out with a strong win. Now, considering the Qatar Academy Falcons are equivalent to an american high school, you may not see the highlights on ESPN. Even so, it was a solid whoopin...
A few of us are going to try and watch the Superbowl here. Someone has a hookup to a stateside cable box that he can watch on his computer. We're trying to get premission to hook it up in the large stadium classroom so we can view it on the high-def movie screen... keep your fingers crossed.
I went out to the Doha Masters golf tournament last weekend. Walked the course (very nice) in the north end of Doha. If you look on google earth, it's pretty easy to find. Just look for the only large patch of green in the entire country. Saw sergio, adam scott, ian poulter, and colin montgomerie, who, incidentially, has lost a lot of weight. If you've ever played golf in arizona, the course looks much the same... one difference... you can see the ocean from the tee boxes.
In the next few weeks, I should have my own car. Currently I'm driving a rented Chevy Optra that is about three sizes too small for me. I think I would be better off with my old Yugo (miss that car). I'm probably gonna buy a new 4x4 SUV so I can get out of the city a little better and go explore. I was told to make sure I don't buy a Shayynatt... an Indian car they sell a lot of here. Turns out their engine hoses like to melt in the summer sun. Oops.
One last thing... and this one's for my dad. Years ago, dad gave me some sound advice. He said, "If you want to meet some people and have fun... join a bowling league." At the time, I laughed and thought that dad was starting to go senile. Well dad... once again, you've proven yourself right. I joined the Education City bowling league. Its a faculty only league, and it seems to be pretty cutthroat. I'm going bowling tomorrow with some coworkers... for "fun" they say. I think they're just sizing me up to see if I'm worthy of playing on their team, or to send me down to the scrub team (math department).
It's a odd day when you realize the most exciting part of your weekend will be bowling tryouts.
later...
ben
Monday, January 21, 2008
back to school...
First off... here's the link to some photos I took. Most were from my car while trying to drive around the city. From here on out, all photos will be at...
http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/benji-of-arabia/
Things are progressing nicely. I just got back from teaching my first real lab. It took twelve students about three hours to weigh fifteen different sets of samples. Can't wait until tomorrow when I have a class of 24...
I have some bad news though. Right before I went into class, I got an email that dropped my jaw to the floor. My friend and mentor at Texas A&M University, Dr. John Hogg, passed away yesterday. Although I never took a class from Dr. Hogg, he was one of the most influential people I ever had the pleasure of meeting. Besides being my undergraduate advisor, he was a good friend. Many hours were spent in his office bullshitting about staff and student alike. Every Friday he would come into Hastings where I worked to pick up the latest movies with good T&A... free of course with the coupons I used to slip him. Several times he gave me the riot act, quoting the rules of ethical guidelines for students and threatening me with expulsion for pulling a prank... afterwards asking me how I did it and tips for next time. After graduating, twice he invited me to be a guest lecturer in the Horizons in Chemistry course at TAMU. And... he was the guy who sent me the email, wondering if I'd be interested in teaching chemistry in Qatar.
I will forever be grateful to him... and will always miss him. Thank you, Dr. Hogg.
Last week I went walking around the Souq Waqif, one of the oldest open marketplaces in all of Arabia. Parts of it are several hundred years old. It's basically a huge flea market with just about everything you could imagine. Rows upon rows of little stores in a huge maze of narrow halls. Old men in thobes laze around on colored cushions people watching and swinging their prayer beads. I sat in an outdoor restaurant eating masgoof (grilled fish) and kofta rice. I tried to get the kofta camel, but they were out of camel... next time. I enjoyed a steaming hot mint tea made right in front of me. Afterwards, while smoking grape and apple shisha I was able to marvel at the sunset over the Arabian Gulf...
Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday evening.
I've put off my Arabic lessons for a little while, but am hoping to get back on the camel. Unfortunately... everyone here speaks English! And I mean everyone! With the enormous influx of foreign workers, I assumed there would be a giant frenzy of miscommunication. Instead, everyone decided that English would be the go-to vernacular. Most of my students speak perfect English; only a few have some problems, but most of their issues deal with chemical nomenclature.
On Thursday, I went to a basketball game... TAMUQ Aggies vs College of the North Atlantic somethings. My aggies played some mean defense, but they really struggled on the fast breaks. We came back in the fourth, but lost 64 to 58. Funny thing... the aggies did cheers in Arabic while the CNA students sang to someone beating a rhythm on an African drum.
I'm getting around the city OK, but it's still pretty easy to get lost... even though this entire city probably isn't as big as Galveston. There are NO street signs. The only way to navigate is by the roundabouts (called RBs) that pretend to be intersections. You go through one, then count how many until your turn. All directions are "go three, right, go two, left, go four on your right." What makes it more fun is that the roundabouts are installed all the time... on the 2007 map that I bought, it doesn't show any rbs going from work to home... even though I go through four. Best thing is that many of the roundabouts have official names, but no one (not even the Qataris) use them... everyone uses their unofficial names. There's the Oryx rb, Tilt rb (it's on a hill), TV rb (Al-Jazeera is next to it), and Burger King rb (guess). Hopefully in the next few weeks I'm going to get out of the city and head into the desert. I want to check out the giant sand dunes south of me, but you need a four-wheel drive to leave the city. No really... in some places the roads stop and you have to travel on sand until you reach the next road... how cool is that!
Next time I'm in the souqs I'll bring my camera. But for now, I've got to start grading some quizzes.
ben
http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/benji-of-arabia/
Things are progressing nicely. I just got back from teaching my first real lab. It took twelve students about three hours to weigh fifteen different sets of samples. Can't wait until tomorrow when I have a class of 24...
I have some bad news though. Right before I went into class, I got an email that dropped my jaw to the floor. My friend and mentor at Texas A&M University, Dr. John Hogg, passed away yesterday. Although I never took a class from Dr. Hogg, he was one of the most influential people I ever had the pleasure of meeting. Besides being my undergraduate advisor, he was a good friend. Many hours were spent in his office bullshitting about staff and student alike. Every Friday he would come into Hastings where I worked to pick up the latest movies with good T&A... free of course with the coupons I used to slip him. Several times he gave me the riot act, quoting the rules of ethical guidelines for students and threatening me with expulsion for pulling a prank... afterwards asking me how I did it and tips for next time. After graduating, twice he invited me to be a guest lecturer in the Horizons in Chemistry course at TAMU. And... he was the guy who sent me the email, wondering if I'd be interested in teaching chemistry in Qatar.
I will forever be grateful to him... and will always miss him. Thank you, Dr. Hogg.
Last week I went walking around the Souq Waqif, one of the oldest open marketplaces in all of Arabia. Parts of it are several hundred years old. It's basically a huge flea market with just about everything you could imagine. Rows upon rows of little stores in a huge maze of narrow halls. Old men in thobes laze around on colored cushions people watching and swinging their prayer beads. I sat in an outdoor restaurant eating masgoof (grilled fish) and kofta rice. I tried to get the kofta camel, but they were out of camel... next time. I enjoyed a steaming hot mint tea made right in front of me. Afterwards, while smoking grape and apple shisha I was able to marvel at the sunset over the Arabian Gulf...
Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday evening.
I've put off my Arabic lessons for a little while, but am hoping to get back on the camel. Unfortunately... everyone here speaks English! And I mean everyone! With the enormous influx of foreign workers, I assumed there would be a giant frenzy of miscommunication. Instead, everyone decided that English would be the go-to vernacular. Most of my students speak perfect English; only a few have some problems, but most of their issues deal with chemical nomenclature.
On Thursday, I went to a basketball game... TAMUQ Aggies vs College of the North Atlantic somethings. My aggies played some mean defense, but they really struggled on the fast breaks. We came back in the fourth, but lost 64 to 58. Funny thing... the aggies did cheers in Arabic while the CNA students sang to someone beating a rhythm on an African drum.
I'm getting around the city OK, but it's still pretty easy to get lost... even though this entire city probably isn't as big as Galveston. There are NO street signs. The only way to navigate is by the roundabouts (called RBs) that pretend to be intersections. You go through one, then count how many until your turn. All directions are "go three, right, go two, left, go four on your right." What makes it more fun is that the roundabouts are installed all the time... on the 2007 map that I bought, it doesn't show any rbs going from work to home... even though I go through four. Best thing is that many of the roundabouts have official names, but no one (not even the Qataris) use them... everyone uses their unofficial names. There's the Oryx rb, Tilt rb (it's on a hill), TV rb (Al-Jazeera is next to it), and Burger King rb (guess). Hopefully in the next few weeks I'm going to get out of the city and head into the desert. I want to check out the giant sand dunes south of me, but you need a four-wheel drive to leave the city. No really... in some places the roads stop and you have to travel on sand until you reach the next road... how cool is that!
Next time I'm in the souqs I'll bring my camera. But for now, I've got to start grading some quizzes.
ben
Sunday, January 13, 2008
araquis... dune... desert planet
I finally have enough time (and a computer) to update. I'm not sure where to start, so I guess I'll start from the beginning...
Jan 2nd... got on the plane. Mom and Dad were good enough to take me to the airport. If you've never flown business class on British Airways overseas... I highly recommend it. Warm towels, champaign, steak and shrimp... damn good food.
Jan 3rd... landed at Gatwick in England. Had a brief three hour layover. My next flight was on Emirates, and I was invited into their Club World Lounge. I had a fantastic breakfast (both arab classics and a true English breakfast). Emirates Airlines was really nice also... not at asthetically pleasing as BA, but the food and entertainment was top notch. Also... I swear they must hire their stewardesses from a Miss World pageant. I swear to God... these were some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen... or maybe it was just because I was stuck in a seat for 17 hours.
Next stop, Dubai. Unfortunately, I was only in Dubai for about one hour. Not enough time to really do anything but admire the airport... and realize for the first time that I was the minority that stood out from the crowd. Made one little mistake... I walked into the bathroom and into a stall... and was faced with the infamous "hole in the ground with squat pads and a garden hose to wash my ass." Needless to say, I came out of there trying to hide the fact that I had hosed down my ankles with the nozzle.
Final stop, Doha. Arrived at 10:30pm their time... more than 22 hours after leaving. A quick note -- due to security concerns, I'm not supposed to give out names of people I work with or specific places where I work or live... so I'll try not to be too vague. My coworker, we'll call him Tex, picked me up from the airport with a driver from the university. I didn't really see much of the city that night, just a long drive to my flat.
Doha. This is one interesting city. Qatar was a fairly poor country living under British rule until 1971, and only in the last thirty years did they get any wealth from their natural gas deposits. So instead of an old country filled with centuries old tradition rooted in Islamic faith... you get a city with extremely modern amenities with a backdrop of long-ago forgotten poverty.
I spent the first few days just adjusting to the time change... first sleeping 14 hours, then none for two days straight. I was taken out to lunch by Tex, his wife, and the other new lab tech, Alaska. Just calling her Alaska... duh. My first meal in Doha, Qatar... a Monte Cristo from Bennigan's. Turns out my coworkers like to treat themselves to American food from time to time.
I have a very nice two-bedroom flat in a new compound about five minutes from work. The compound is not finished yet... they're still building the pool, stores, and gym... but it'll work. My main window faces the construction site, and is right next to a mosque. Mosques here vary tremendously... some are huge, taller than skyscrapers and ornately constructed... glowing all night. But some are barely two stories tall and are almost crumbling. You cannot, honestly, throw a rock without hitting a mosque. When they announce the call to prayer five times a day, you always hear the one closest to you first... then you can hear them from all across the city... echoing in a beautiful rhythm. In this entire city, there is probably a few hundred mosques... but only ten gas stations!
By the way, it's the rainy season here! A cold front came through, bringing with it a massive sandstorm that darkened the sun one afternoon. After it blew through (and covered everything that was outside with about a half-an-inch of fine yellow dust) it got really cold here... down to the low 40s. But since these temperature are extremely rare, there's no heat in the buildings... so when it's cold... it's always cold. After three days of cold, the rain started. And no one has umbrellas here... and absolutely no one knows how to drive in the rain. It only rains for about one week, then it won't rain again until next January.
So much for moving to the hot, dry desert... it's been cold and wet all damn week!
I'm teaching my first class tomorrow night, and I think I'm as prepared as I'm going to get. I have to get home and eat... so I'll write more tomorrow morning. I haven't taken a ton a pictures yet, but I'll post what I have soon.
later...
Jan 2nd... got on the plane. Mom and Dad were good enough to take me to the airport. If you've never flown business class on British Airways overseas... I highly recommend it. Warm towels, champaign, steak and shrimp... damn good food.
Jan 3rd... landed at Gatwick in England. Had a brief three hour layover. My next flight was on Emirates, and I was invited into their Club World Lounge. I had a fantastic breakfast (both arab classics and a true English breakfast). Emirates Airlines was really nice also... not at asthetically pleasing as BA, but the food and entertainment was top notch. Also... I swear they must hire their stewardesses from a Miss World pageant. I swear to God... these were some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen... or maybe it was just because I was stuck in a seat for 17 hours.
Next stop, Dubai. Unfortunately, I was only in Dubai for about one hour. Not enough time to really do anything but admire the airport... and realize for the first time that I was the minority that stood out from the crowd. Made one little mistake... I walked into the bathroom and into a stall... and was faced with the infamous "hole in the ground with squat pads and a garden hose to wash my ass." Needless to say, I came out of there trying to hide the fact that I had hosed down my ankles with the nozzle.
Final stop, Doha. Arrived at 10:30pm their time... more than 22 hours after leaving. A quick note -- due to security concerns, I'm not supposed to give out names of people I work with or specific places where I work or live... so I'll try not to be too vague. My coworker, we'll call him Tex, picked me up from the airport with a driver from the university. I didn't really see much of the city that night, just a long drive to my flat.
Doha. This is one interesting city. Qatar was a fairly poor country living under British rule until 1971, and only in the last thirty years did they get any wealth from their natural gas deposits. So instead of an old country filled with centuries old tradition rooted in Islamic faith... you get a city with extremely modern amenities with a backdrop of long-ago forgotten poverty.
I spent the first few days just adjusting to the time change... first sleeping 14 hours, then none for two days straight. I was taken out to lunch by Tex, his wife, and the other new lab tech, Alaska. Just calling her Alaska... duh. My first meal in Doha, Qatar... a Monte Cristo from Bennigan's. Turns out my coworkers like to treat themselves to American food from time to time.
I have a very nice two-bedroom flat in a new compound about five minutes from work. The compound is not finished yet... they're still building the pool, stores, and gym... but it'll work. My main window faces the construction site, and is right next to a mosque. Mosques here vary tremendously... some are huge, taller than skyscrapers and ornately constructed... glowing all night. But some are barely two stories tall and are almost crumbling. You cannot, honestly, throw a rock without hitting a mosque. When they announce the call to prayer five times a day, you always hear the one closest to you first... then you can hear them from all across the city... echoing in a beautiful rhythm. In this entire city, there is probably a few hundred mosques... but only ten gas stations!
By the way, it's the rainy season here! A cold front came through, bringing with it a massive sandstorm that darkened the sun one afternoon. After it blew through (and covered everything that was outside with about a half-an-inch of fine yellow dust) it got really cold here... down to the low 40s. But since these temperature are extremely rare, there's no heat in the buildings... so when it's cold... it's always cold. After three days of cold, the rain started. And no one has umbrellas here... and absolutely no one knows how to drive in the rain. It only rains for about one week, then it won't rain again until next January.
So much for moving to the hot, dry desert... it's been cold and wet all damn week!
I'm teaching my first class tomorrow night, and I think I'm as prepared as I'm going to get. I have to get home and eat... so I'll write more tomorrow morning. I haven't taken a ton a pictures yet, but I'll post what I have soon.
later...
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
So long... and thanks for all the fish...
It's time... I'm off. I'm just about to leave for the airport with mom and dad. In about 24 hours, I'll hopefully arrive in Doha.
I'm not sure if anyone will be picking me up from the airport... or where I'll be staying... or when my job starts...
But I know I'll have some fun...
Take care, everyone... and have a Happy New Year!!
ben
I'm not sure if anyone will be picking me up from the airport... or where I'll be staying... or when my job starts...
But I know I'll have some fun...
Take care, everyone... and have a Happy New Year!!
ben
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